


Touch me.. touch me not

by liamschimera



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love, mentions of nudity, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 06:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13358523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liamschimera/pseuds/liamschimera
Summary: Scott's just trying to be a good alpha, a good friend. He knows Theo needs the reassurance that he's welcome in the pack. So what if his methods are very...tactile. There's nothing weird about it, right?





	Touch me.. touch me not

**** To say the pack is confused is an understatement, they’re downright bewildered at the sight going on before them. It had...started out innocently enough if anything about Theo could be considered innocent. 

 

It had started out with Theo smiling at Scott, one of those soft reserved smiles with a tilt of his head and blinking his eyes at the Alpha. Scott would return Theo’s smile with a bashful one of his own, blushing and finding a way to compliment Theo somehow. Then it became something more. Scott would push his way into Theo’s personal space, pressed up against the chimera’s back a purr rumbling throughout his chest. All the meanwhile trying to shove his face into Theo’s neck, rubbing it against the skin there while Theo tried to push him away. 

 

At first, the pack thought that maybe…. _ maybe _ it was just Scott’s Alpha trying to find a way to accept Theo into the pack and of course they thought Theo was just bored, accepting the affection because he wasn’t used to it. Touch starved. 

 

But then Scott kept doing it, finding other ways to innocently touch Theo, covering the chimera in his scent. Leaning forward, burying his face into Theo’s neck.

 

Then Theo giggles, he genuinely giggled when Scott rubbed his face into his neck and purred. The pack is openly staring, curly fries calling from Stiles' mouth as he stands there agape. Neither Scott nor Theo notices too caught up in their own little bubble. Theo’s trying to push Scott away, laughing and there’s a blush on his cheek. Scott sharing a matching one with him. 

 

That’s when they realize it, Scott has a  _ crush _ on  **Theo** . 

 

Scott’s busy whispering something in Theo’s ear and Theo laughs again, pushing at Scott’s chest telling him to shut up. Stiles can’t handle it, despite Lydia’s warnings to stay out of it he storms over and stares at his best friend. 

 

“So uh….when did this happen?” He asked, looking between the two. 

 

Theo freezes, staring at Stiles with a look that tells the human to back off. Don’t ruin this for him. 

 

“When did what happen?” Scott asks, visibly confused. His arms are still wrapped around Theo and the chimera closes his eyes.

 

“Uhhh you and Theo?” Stiles says like its obvious, he also gives a look that says _ ‘Really? Theo?’  _

 

“What about me and Theo?” He looks down at the chimera as if Theo could give him the answer.

 

Theo doesn’t say a word, he merely pulls himself out of Scott’s grasp, there’s a blank look in his eyes completely closed off as he moves away. His lips are pursed in mild annoyance because Stiles just had to go and ruin this, before Theo could at least pretend. He was never going to act on his feelings, he could simply pretend all of this was real, that Scott actually liked him. Was it healthy? No, but nothing Theo had ever done was healthy. 

 

But Stiles had to say something and now Scott was looking adorably confused, it made Theo’s heart want to skip a beat but he’d learned long ago how to control his heart rate, how to control his chemosignals. So he gives a huff, rolls his eyes and doesn’t say a word as he walks away. His only goodbye is lifting a hand as he walks out the door. 

 

If Scott hadn’t been confused before he was definitely confused now, he watches Theo go with a small frown and Stiles can’t believe what he’s seeing. Lydia in the background is facepalming, walking over and dragging Stiles back as she tells Scott to go after Theo. The Alpha nods, walking outside. He’s greeted by a pile of clothes and  _ oh _ . Either Theo’s running around naked somewhere or Scott’s going to find him in the woods as a wolf. The latter is more obvious. He picks up the clothes, tossing them into Theo’s truck as he climbs into it, pulling the keys out and starting it up. He drives out to the preserve, grabbing a pair of sweats from a gym bag on the floor and heading out into the woods. He doesn’t know what he did wrong, why Theo was upset at him. Why had he run out of his house? Well, he hadn’t run but...he might as well have. Scott knows its probably something he did, did he get too close? Push too much? He just...his wolf liked it when Theo smelled like them.

 

He finds Theo and of course, he’s in his wolf form. Scott thinks Theo’s wolf is beautiful, he’s smaller than what a normal wolf would be, sleeker but he’s graceful as he turns to look at Scott, hackles raising before he trots over and stares up at the Alpha. He shifts back, standing up from his crouched form and staring at Scott. Naked.

 

Scott has seen Malia naked, he’s seen her shift back had been the reason she shifted back. He should be used to naked werecoyote’s, even if they’re only half werecoyote. But Theo naked and Malia naked are two very different nakeds. 

 

His face is flushed as he looks away, pointedly holding out the sweatpants he’d grabbed. He’s glad he was smart. 

 

Theo snorts but its humorless, “What? Don’t like what you see, Scottie?” He asks in a mock coo.

 

"Oh you're very- yes you uh-" He begins rambling, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to assure the chimera how pretty he is. 

 

Theo takes carefully calculated steps towards Scott reaching out to take the sweats as he eyes the Alpha. He doesn’t bother putting them on. “Is all of me pretty?” 

Scott’s eyes immediately fall down his face turning immediately redder as he realizes what he just did, he begins to apologize profusely as he turns around. This makes Theo laugh, a real one as he pulls on the sweatpants. 

 

“I’m fucking with ya, Scottie.” He can keep pretending, not in the same way he had before. But he can pretend that this doesn’t change anything between them. That everything is normal. He might not let Scott get as close as before, but this doesn’t have to change their friendship.

 

Things are different after that, Theo’s more careful. He doesn’t allow himself to be alone with Scott, he doesn’t let Scott get too close, and he most certainly doesn’t let the Alpha scent him. 

 

His animals claw at his chest, roiling anxiously. They need their Alpha, want him close by but Theo’s pulling away and they don’t understand why. 

 

Meanwhile, Scott is worried, he tried so hard to make Theo feel welcome. He tried to be his friend. But it was like Theo no longer wanted any of that, it was like he just wanted to push Scott away. Both Alpha and chimera are suffering, one doesn’t realize why and the other is hoping he can suffer through it all and in the end just slip away quietly and disappear like he’d never existed. 

 

It’s what he does best.

 

Most of his nights nowadays were spent tossing and turning in his truck, not being able to sleep without the constant presence of Scott’s scent lingering on his skin. Tonight’s no exception and he quickly gives up on any notion of even trying. He gets a series of texts from the pack group chat, a group chat he’s not even sure why he’s a part of. He learns that Scott is out with Liam patrolling tonight, looking for a rogue omega that been killing people's pets and stray animals. He uses this knowledge to his advantage. Breaking into Scott’s house isn’t hard, he’d done it once or twice before pre-hell. He knows what he’s looking for and he finds it in Scott’s room. It’s a hoodie that he sees the alpha wear often, one of his favorites. He only feels somewhat awful for taking it, but Scott’s scent clings to it so prominently that he can’t think about leaving it behind. So he takes it and he runs, he goes back to his truck. He drives to a spot that he hopes the deputies won’t check tonight and he curls up in the backseat with the hoodie curled in his arms, face buried inside of it. He breathes in Scott’s scent and he drifts off into an easy sleep. 

 

Even after that, things don’t get any better, Scott still smiles at Theo like he’s his entire world, like Theo just being there somehow makes everything better. He’s gotten better about trying to actively scent Theo, but he still tries. Its just more of a subconscious thing now and Theo is almost tempted to let him but he doesn’t give in. He can’t allow himself that, can’t risk it. So he holds Scott at arms link. He starts spending more time with the puppy pack, spends the night at Liam’s sometimes just to distract himself. Sleeping in a bed is nice, he’d forgotten how good that particular luxury felt. Sometimes he finds himself wondering how comfortable Scott’s bed would be. Those thoughts usually don’t end well. 

 

Someone’s shaking his shoulder and when he blinks he catches an annoyed Liam staring at him with a raised brow, “You okay man? You just kinda spaced out on us for a minute there.” 

 

Theo takes a look around, Corey and Mason are watching him and even Alec who normally doesn’t pay any attention to Theo looks slightly concerned. 

 

“I’m fine.” He waves them off, picking up the controller he’d dropped. “Just thinking too much.” 

 

“Yeah well, don’t blow a brain gasket,” Liam smirks, shaking his head and turning back to the video game on the tv screen.

 

As the weeks continue to drag on Theo finds himself more and more distracted, the stolen hoodie is beginning to smell less like Scott and more like himself and it's putting him in a foul mood. It still helps lull him to sleep at night but it’s more of a placebo effect than anything. 

 

Scott’s not a dumb, he knows Theo’s avoiding him he just doesn’t know why. He feels bad rifling through Theo’s truck but he really needs the receipt for something he’d bought a couple of days ago and he knows it's in here somewhere. All he can hope is that Theo hasn’t cleaned the car out recently. He reaches beneath the seat and when he feels fabric he tugs, hoping that maybe it's under here. When he pulls out a familiar hoodie he frowns. He hasn’t seen this particular hoodie in weeks, his favorite one. He knows he hadn’t left it in Theo’s truck so what was it doing here? He catches Theo’s scent and it's strong, clinging to the fabric like a lifeline and it causes Scott to blink rapidly for a moment. Why would his hoodie be in Theo’s truck and smell so strongly of him? 

 

Its embarrassing how long it takes him to realize that Theo must have stolen it from his room somehow. Does this mean he missed Scott’s scent? But if that were the case why would he try so hard to push Scott away? Why wouldn’t he just let his Alpha cover him with his scent and make everything better?

 

He’s hoping Theo misses him...just as much as he misses Theo.

 

He shoves the hoodie back into its hiding place, hoping that his lingering scent can be passed off as him just looking through the car. He doesn’t want to scare Theo off by revealing he knows that the hoodies here. There’s a pack meeting later, he’ll wait for everyone to leave and then he’ll ask Theo the question that’s burning in the back of his mind.

 

The pack meeting comes and goes and he never manages to ask the question. He does, however, manage to catch Theo’s arm as he’s walking out with Liam, his beta raises an eyebrow in question but Scott just gives a shake of his head. 

 

“We need to talk.” He says to Theo, who looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here. 

 

Instead of letting Theo walk to the couch to drop back onto it, he drags the chimera up the stairs to his room, where his scents the strongest. Theo looks almost relieved as they walk through the door. Scott watches him, watches as he drops onto the Alpha’s bed and takes a deep breath. That answers part of the question at least. 

 

He walks slowly towards the chimera, not wanting to startle him. He drops slowly onto the bed and places a hand on the back of Theo’s neck, rubbing it gently. Theo finds himself unconsciously leaning into the touch. So Scott does what he’s been wanting to do for weeks, he pulls Theo close and buries his face in the chimera’s neck and rubs his scent into it. 

 

Theo can’t prevent himself from giving in, from allowing it to happen. He can’t stop the satisfied noise that leaves his throat. He’s missed this, missed Scott and now that he has it he’s pretty sure he can’t just walk away from it. 

 

“Why would you pull away? If this was what you wanted all along, what you  _ needed _ ?” The alpha asks softly.

 

“Because as much as it hurts to go without your scent being on me….it hurts so much worse to go around smelling like you. To be absolutely covered in your scent, so much so that I can hardly decipher my own. It hurts, Scott.” Theo whispers, closing his eyes and looking away.

 

“Why...why does it hurt, Theo? Talk to me, please.” Scott pleads, shifting closer and pulling Theo in so he could rub soothing circles on his back. 

 

“Are you really that oblivious, Scott?” Theo laughs, shaking his head and pulling away. There are tears in his eyes.

 

No, this isn’t how Scott wanted this to go. He shakes his head and reaches out for the chimera. “Theo no, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He whispered.

 

“It doesn’t matter, Scottie. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be gone in a couple of days and you won’t have to worry about me anymore.” Theo smiles, it's watery and absolutely heartbreaking. 

 

Scott’s wolf begins to panic and he doesn’t know why as it paces back and forth in his chest and it wants nothing more than to have their chimera deep in his arms. Wait, their chimera?

 

“Theo I don’t want you to go anywhere, I want you here,” Scott says, shaking his head and cupping Theo’s face. “Please….Please don’t go.” 

 

“Why, Scott? Why should I stay? There’s nothing here for me. I mean sure I’m friends with some of the pack, hell sometimes I even think I  _ might _ be pack. Even though we all know how stupid that is.” The laugh he gives is self-deprecating. 

 

Scott’s heart breaks, had he been so clueless that he couldn’t see that Theo was struggling this much? How could Theo not see it? He was pack! The Alpha grips Theo’s face, his wolf struggling to get to the surface. But years of practice keeps it at bay. 

 

“You are pack, The. You’re  _ my _ pack, my beta.”  **My everything** his wolf supplies. 

 

It's scary how possessive his wolf is of Theo and Scott’s not sure when it happened or when his heart began to beat so fast. He’s torn away from his thoughts at another laugh, the tears have fallen now from Theo’s eyes and Scott makes a strangled noise as he tries desperately to wipe them away. 

 

“Theo please….” He whines, pressing his forehead against the chimera’s forehead. 

 

“I like you, Scott! I like you so fucking much but you don’t like me back, you never have and you never will. Why can’t you understand that it hurts! It hurts to come to pack meetings, it hurts to look at you. Everything fucking hurts!” Theo cries, eyes flashing gold as he stands. 

 

Scott’s dumbfounded, staring at his friend as he begins to pace and  _ oh _ …. **oh** ! Everything makes so much sense now. 

 

“You like me.” He repeats the words spoken, slowly as if he doesn’t understand. But he understands. He understands so much more now. 

 

“Yes we’ve established this, now if you’ll excuse me I’ll be leaving now.” Theo scoff’s heading for the door. 

“Theo wait!” Scott calls, jumping up and going after the chimera. 

 

He pushes the door shut with his shoulder as he leans against the door, Theo staring up at him. “What are you doing, Scott? Let me go.” 

 

“No….no you aren’t allowed to leave, you aren’t allowed to tell me you like me and then just try to run away,” Scott says, giving his friend a hard glare that he’s been told makes him look like he’s scolding a child. 

 

Theo growls at that look and Scott just smiles, “Tell me, Theo. Tell me you like me.” He whispers. 

 

“What?” Theo asks, brow furrowed. 

 

“I need to hear you say it again. Preferably without you telling me how much it hurts this time.” He smiles. 

 

Theo looks nervous, shifting from one foot to the other. “I….I like you?” He says it more like its a question and Scott shakes his head, causing the chimera to sigh heavily. “I like you, Scott McCall. You horribly oblivious bastard.” 

 

This causes Scott to beam, pulling Theo in for a hug. He isn’t sure how long they stand there hugging, but when he pulls back Theo’s no longer cry and there’s a blush on his cheeks. 

 

“God I missed that.” Scott sighs, shaking his head and cupping Theo’s cheek. Rubbing the soft red skin. 

 

“Stop it…” Theo mumbled, pushing Scott’s hand away but he’s smiling. Its small but its a start. 

 

“There’s my favorite smile.” He grins, kissing the top of Theo’s head. “I’m sorry I messed everything up, do you think you can forgive me?” 

 

Theo’s quiet for a moment, just basking in Scott’s affections till he has to leave. “Yeah, Scott...I forgive you.” 

 

“Good...because you’re staying here tonight.” He murmured, pulling Theo back to the bed and collapsing into it. 

 

Theo groans and tries to wriggle away, “Why are you doing this?” He asks. 

“Because I like to torture you.” Scott grins.

 

Its a month later and things are back to normal, well as normal as things in Beacon Hills can be. The pack is once again staring as Scott picks Theo up, arms wound about his middle. They watch the chimera squeal, trying to get away.

 

“Scott, you asshole! Put me down.” He laughs, squirming in his Alpha’s hold. But its impossible, Scott’s grip is too strong.

 

“Not until you cry for mercy!” Scott grins.

 

“Mercy! Mercy!” Theo giggles, causing Scott to release him.

 

Stiles is absolutely positive he’s about to have a heart attack so he walks over, once again ignoring Lydia’s warnings. This time though Scott sees him coming.

 

“Last week.” He says, Stiles pauses.

 

“What?” He asks dumbly.

 

“We started dating last week,” Scott says. Stiles jaw drops and he’s doing quite the impression of a fish on dry land. 

 

Theo is grinning from ear to ear, a blush on his cheeks and his face buried in Scott’s neck. But the pack can see the flush creeping down his neck. Lydia comes to Stiles’ rescue, pulling him away and allowing Scott to bury his face in Theo’s hair. Just like that the stares slowly come to an end, Theo is less self-conscious about how close he’ll allow himself to be with the Alpha and Scott’s more aware of the things he does and says. Things weren’t perfect, they still had a few issues to work on, a few kinks to smooth out. But they were trying and they were happy and for Theo? That was more than enough.


End file.
